What This Story Is AboutReports of online sexual exploitation of children in Tennessee have skyrocketed, according to Street Hope TN, a nonprofit working to prevent trafficking and exploitation. Why It MattersThe group says predators are targeting kids through popular apps like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.What Happens NextAdvocates are urging parents and grandparents to take immediate steps — like private accounts and open conversations — to protect kids online, as Street Hope Tennessee prepares to release an expanded safety resource guide.For ContextReports of online exploitation in Tennessee jumped from about 30 a month to more than 22,000 in less than a year, mostly involving children ages 12 to 17.Catch UpOnline predators are targeting your kids. Here’s what parents can doKNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Reports of online sexual exploitation of children in Tennessee have surged in recent years, according to Street Hope TN, a nonprofit that works to prevent trafficking and online exploitation of kids.The organization said it went from seeing about 30 reports a month to more than 22,000 reports in less than a year, most involving children ages 12 to 17. Advocates said predators are exploiting the same apps and platforms millions of children use daily, including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and online gaming.Predators target apps kids use dailyLisa Ivy, director of prevention education at Street Hope TN, said predators have become skilled at manipulating both the technology and the habits of the children who use it.“Predators are really good at figuring out how to manipulate apps, knowing this is where kids spend their time,” Ivy said. “They’re going to spend their time on games, Instagram and Snapchat and TikTok and YouTube, and that’s where they’re going to search for kids.”One of the fastest-growing threats, Ivy said, is “sextortion,” a scam in which someone threatens to leak a sexual image of a child unless they’re paid.“Sextortion is essentially a scam where someone threatens to leak a sexual image of a child unless they pay them,” Ivy said. “We’ve seen a lot of kids, unfortunately, who’ve committed suicide in those situations, which is the worst possible outcome.”Teenage boys increasingly targetedIvy said teenage boys are increasingly targeted in these scams, a shift from the more commonly recognized image of trafficking victims.“A lot of times when we think of trafficking, we think about female victims,” Ivy said. “Sextortion, exploitation, a lot of times it can be even those male victims.”She added that a predator doesn’t need to ever meet a child in person to cause harm.“This person may not ever try to meet up with your kid,” Ivy said. “It can also be unsafe just having conversations with people online because they may be trying to solicit images of your kids, which can be just as emotionally damaging.”A grandmother’s experienceFor Norma Mele, the danger of the online world became personal after she and her husband took custody of their granddaughter at age five.She joined the Knox County Community Action Committee Grandparents as Parents program. Helping grandparents with information and tools to raise their children’s children. “It’s kind of like we saved her because she had no place else to go,” Mele said. “If she had gotten into foster care in California, we may never have seen her again.”Mele said one of the most alarming moments came when her granddaughter, then about six years old, ended up on what looked like an innocent art website that exposed her to inappropriate content.“If you don’t know what you don’t know, it’s ignorance,” Mele said. “You have to fill that with knowledge because you have no way of controlling anything if you don’t have that. You’re totally lost.”Resource guide plannedStreet Hope TN said it plans to release an expanded resource guide for parents and grandparents in the coming weeks, building on the prevention workshops it already holds statewide. Ivy said the organization will continue pushing schools and families to adopt basic safety habits, including private social media accounts, disabled location services and ongoing conversations about who children are talking to online.Mele said she now encourages other caregivers to actively monitor children’s online activity, even if it feels uncomfortable.“You’ve got to take control of your grandchild or your child’s life to the point where it may sound like you’re being overly reactive, but you have a right to do that,” Mele said.Street Hope TN is a nonprofit, counter-trafficking organization that focuses on both prevention education and survivor restoration. The group operates a residential safe home for teenage trafficking survivors, ages 12 to 17. It also offers an educational resource for younger children, kindergarten through fifth grade, at LancelotKids.com, intended to help parents and teachers discuss online safety without overexposing young children to difficult topics.Advocates say most online exploitation cases begin with a child meeting someone through the internet, rather than through a trafficker they already know.Predators often pose as peers on social media or gaming platforms to gain a child’s trust before soliciting images or personal information.Copyright 2026 WVLT. All rights reserved.
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